-- 8/17 WWE Raw Reax

Jon Gargis of Cartersville, Ga. (6.0): Best moments: Kofi vs. Carlito, the guy holding the Michael Cole "Vintage" poster while Cole actually said "Vintage." It is possible to have good wrestling and some humorous moments in the same show, as we saw both tonight. Santino might not have been rolling-on-the-floor funny, but it was good to actually see him perform in the ring, even though he didn't wrestle. Kofi Kingston vs. Carlito was one of the best Raw matches in weeks, and even Carlito should get elevated from it since it had so many believable nearfalls. Would've like to see Miz-Bourne go a little longer so Bourne could've looked a little stronger after losing too quickly to Jack Swagger in past weeks, but the right man won as Miz needs a boost after weeks of humiliation from John Cena. Speaking of, can we have one week where Cena doesn't pin Chris Jericho? At least Legacy got to one-up DX tonight - something few tag teams get the chance to do. I just hope Rhodes and DiBiase aren't buried in the weeks to come. Finally, Summerslam may have some good main-event-level matches scheduled, but someone needs to book some mid-and lower-card matches for this Sunday and fast. If the WWE is serious about developing talent, they can't just throw the young guys on the card as an afterthought.

Bryant Mooney of Stamford, Conn. (5.0): Best: Carlito vs. Kofi, Santino comedy. Worst: Mickie vs. Gail Kim. It's like every time I become hesitant to watch this show, they have a decent show. The opening promo was fine. Freddie Prinze Jr. was good. It surprised me how well the promo went and, of course, Santino was good for a laugh. Orton attacking Prinze Jr. added a nice touch to it and Freddie Prinze Jr. sold the attack well. Overall good opening segment. Kofi vs. Carlito was a fun match. I was happy they got some decent time, but five more minutes wouldn't have hurt. Match of the night by default. The DX package was a good way to mix up the '97 and '06 skits. The Miz vs. Evan Bourne was another fun and entertaining match. I dig Miz's new look. I hope these two have more matches with each other but again with more time. The DX entrance was typical with the wacky comedy but Santino was once again great. Legacy breaking up the potential DX comedy show was much needed, it gave Legacy some needed credibility but it still didn't convince me that they have a single chance of beating them at Summerslam or is it Summerfest? Who knows anymore? I had high expectations for Mickie James vs. Gail Kim. The match started off good, but near the end, it just became a train wreck. Mickie botches the DDT (or Gail just didn't take it) and then completely misses the roundhouse kick and I think Mickie knew she messed up badly just by the look on her face. I'm a huge Mickie fan but she really scared me with this match and I think she's really losing her luster. Just a very awkward ending. John Cena's promos are becoming more and more painful by the week. He tries to come off like The Rock but just looks like a total doofus and every promo just feels the same. Thankfully Jericho and Show entered in to save this segment. MVP vs. Swagger was just thrown into our faces with no intros and threw me completely off guard. The DQ was a lame ending and both men deserve much better than a 90-second DQ. Swagger or MVP needs a serious push so we won't see Orton vs. Cena or Triple H a billion more times, but I don't see that changing any time soon. The more I watch, the more I feel sorry for both men. Hornswoggle vs. Chavo was surprisingly fun this week. The cameo from Macaulay Culkin was great and very unexpected. Great surprise. Floyd Mayweather hosting Raw next week should be fun. His cocky personality is enough to carry the role. The main event was okay for what it was. Freddie Prinze, Jr. turning it to a lumberjack match wasn't so bad but I really disliked how Jericho played the background role during the match. I would've accepted it better if Show was the one in the background because I believe that Jericho is too good to just be the background man. The RKO after the match was great but I was really frustrated with the lack of selling by Cena after the RKO. It would've been better if Cena just sold the RKO with the lumberjacks clearing Jericho and Show from the ring and the lumberjacks checking on Cena in the ring to give Orton some leverage going into Summerslam. This just tells me that Cena is going to win back the WWE Title this Sunday. This edition of Raw did a fine job hyping the PPV than in past weeks, but I felt like it was too little too late to make a difference. Raw wasn't a complete train wreck like previous weeks. Did it make me want to watch Raw again on a regular basis again? Not at all. Solid show this week, but not anywhere near as good as Smackdown has been the past few months.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this show for a "WWE Raw Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on Raw, click here.

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